Meet Samina Ali—Product Manager, nurture.farm

Say hello to Samina Ali, Product Manager at nurture.farm and a soon-to-be professional scuba diver. She works across different functions like engineering, marketing, supply chain, finance, legal etc., and coalesces all to make the purchase of agri products affordable and efficient for agri-retailers and farmers across India through a digital platform.

How did you become interested in your line of work?

I’m passionate about working on ideas which can make a significant real-life impact. I started out as an engineer and explored multiple domains until I found my fit in Product Management. Working as a Product Manager at nurture.farm gives me an opportunity to work on some complex problems in the agriculture ecosystem and make a step change in the end-to-end farming life cycle in India.

How would you describe your role within the company?

As a Product Manager, I’m responsible for identifying problems and opportunity areas in traditional farming, visualising optimal solutions and then working with multiple stakeholders to drive them to fruition. Currently, I’m building SellerFirst, a one-stop digital platform which will make the purchase of agri products affordable and efficient for agri-retailers and farmers across India.

What is a lesson or experience unique to your profession???

I have learnt Product Management isn’t a specialisation but a generalisation in multiple fields with a focus on customer success. As a Product Manager, I work across different functions like engineering, marketing, supply chain, finance, legal etc., and coalesce all to derive a solution that helps the customer succeed. I found ‘Range’ by David Epstein to be a great book on this subject.

What energises you about your work?

Outside of my professional career, I’m a novice artist. The satisfaction and excitement I get in building my art projects, in seeing the finished painting, and the joy when it is received by someone is very similar to what I experience with Product Management. Being a PM, getting to build products that help bring joy and success to farmers and agri-retailers in India excites and fuels me.?

What motivates you to stay positive???

Listening to stories about the change our work is bringing at grassroot levels gives me a super positive vibe. To cite an example, one woman from a small village in Punjab highlighted how becoming a Krishi Mitra (field partner) for nurture.farm helped her earn an additional income for her household without leaving her village and enabled her brother to attend school, which was difficult earlier because of limited income. Such stories fill my heart with joy.??

What has helped you build confidence?

For me, confidence is a sum total of the experiences and exposure I have had at work and otherwise. I work on ideas I truly believe in and put my heart and soul into, which gives me the needed confidence.??

What is the greatest risk you have taken???

One of the greatest risks I have taken in my professional life would be switching my domain multiple times until I found my fit. Before coming into Product Management, I worked as an engineer, a consultant, an L&D trainer, and an HR analyst—quite a handful! While working in HR digitisation, I resonated with the field, and from there, I carved out my path to a focused PM role. Changing roles isn’t easy as I had to apply for jobs and start anew; however, the journey has given me invaluable experience and a role I aspire to.

What lessons and experiences can you share as a woman?

It has happened many a time I’m in a room full of men with no other women. At times like these, I can’t help but feel proud and a bit overwhelmed at the same time. What I have learnt over the years is not to let the gender factor cloud my mind and to be confident in what I can bring to the room—if one can do this, then others follow suit.?

Throughout your career, who were your biggest inspirations?

Our daily wage earners. When I listen to their stories, I don’t need any other big names. For example, my former cook’s husband was an alcoholic who would abuse her and spend everything on drinks and gambling. However, she would diligently come to my house and cook us delicious food so she could send her little girl to school as well as extracurricular classes to ensure she didn’t suffer too.

What is the best advice you have ever received?

One of the best pieces of advice I have recently come across is from Matthew 6:34: “Don’t worry about tomorrow, tomorrow will take care of itself.” Whenever I feel too overwhelmed, I try to focus on this and enjoy the present rather than worry about the future.

Would you have done anything differently if you knew what you know now?

Not really. No regrets so far :)

What are some of the traits you admire the most amongst the people you work with?

At nurture.farm, I admire how passionate and excited everyone is to solve problems and the level of ownership most of us here have. Also, I get quite inspired by the creative solutions people here come up with time and again for many of the complex problems we deal with.

How do you engage with and empower others???

I think having honest conversations really helps. Sometimes, people may be hesitant, but if you lead with honesty, the other person is most likely to open up as well.

Why do you think empathy is so important in this day and age???

Everyone today has to juggle between work and personal life. One can never comprehend what the other person may be going through until one listens and empathises. I consciously try to think from the other person’s perspective and be considerate of their thoughts, issues, etc. It not only helps in creating a healthy work environment but also in fostering camaraderie amongst us.

What are your interests/hobbies?

I’m a big ocean person and love swimming. I'm learning scuba diving, and hopefully, I will have a professional-level PADI certificate very soon.